Review: White Ops, by Declan Finn
Unapologetic heroism
Humanity and its allies are attacked by an upstart alien race called the Pharmakoi wielding unbelievably advanced weapons. And that's just the beginning of the threats they will face in this new space opera by Declan Finn.
It soon comes to the attention of those investigating the war that the Pharmakoi weren't acting alone - someone was arming them and then pointing them in the right direction. Private Mercenary and telepath Sean Patrick Ryan is determined to find out who.
His investigation uncovers a plot linked to the most powerful people on Earth, and threatens every living being in the galaxy.
Story
Out of nowhere, a backwater alien civilization called the Pharmakoi picks a fight with the big players in the galaxy: Humanity and another advanced but isolationist race known as the Renar. The Pharmakoi are packing weaponry that goes far beyond their capability, and while the war is bloody, Humanity and the Renar win the day, but the threat is much greater than anyone guesses. Private mercenary and telepath Sean Patrick Ryan sets out to find out who and what were behind the Pharmakoi War, and discovers layers of conspiracy that lead to the centers of power on earth and mysterious demonic monsters from another galaxy. He forms a group, which he dubs "White Ops" (as opposed to "Black Ops") to keep the monstrous threat on its heels to give the rest of the galaxy time to get organized and defend themselves.
In the background, political operatives on Earth consolidate power through any means necessary: murdering their political opponents, stealing an election, and building their own secret police force. Earth's pols have no scruples, and are perfectly willing to throw humanity under the bus to get where they want to go. Earth's corrupt politicians force White Ops to wage an entirely different kind of war on the home front while battling monsters on the edges of civilized space.
The characters
Ryan is the most dangerous man in the galaxy: a flashy guy the size of a refrigerator who wears an electric blue suit and customized organic armor that dresses him like Sherlock Holmes. He also spent most of his childhood growing up in a Catholic monastery and has a lot to say about Jesuits, and speaks in a cheerful Irish brogue. Ryan is a man of action, not words, and things tend to explode around him if he stays in one place too long. He tends to be good natured, but his temper can get white hot under the right circumstance.
Ryan is on a mission to discover the origins of the Pharmakoi war, and he puts together a team of operatives that includes a military genius well versed in classic science fiction, Earth's ambassador to the Renar, who gained their respect thanks to his humane treatment of the enemy, and the daughter of a war hero and a senator who might be the best pilot in the Earth fleet.
The moniker "White Ops" is an apt one - despite their clandestine nature, the heroes feel guileless compared to the villains. Sure, they pull their share of tricks and tell their share of lies, but their methods and motives are up front for all to see.
Their human foes, politicians and bureaucrats, are envious, entitled, and assume that everyone is as self-interested as they are. This creates a stark contrast between hero and villain, and it is easy to know who to root for here. The alien villains are, well, alien, but their motives and methods are familiar. They want to turn our galaxy into their own cattle yard, alternately using brute force but also diabolical guile, using their mortal pawns' own weaknesses and desires against them.
The world
The galaxy is a big, strange place, with aliens of all shapes and sizes and exotic locales including a rickety Dyson sphere stratified between rich and poor, complete with slums and alien gangs. The members of White Ops fight with lasers, nanites, swords of fire, flechette guns, nuclear weapons, and as is often the case with Ryan, plain old slug throwers.
Finn's rich descriptions make it easy to picture the strange creatures that populate his world, and they are what make White Ops a true space opera. There is plenty strange in this world, but Finn makes most of it seem utterly familiar. I never felt disoriented among the various oddities in people, places or things in White Ops. On the contrary, Finn weaves the familiar with the strange, making use of Earth history, religion and pop culture to give context to the world of White Ops.
The politics
The world of White Ops is strange, but the politics are straight out of a newspaper. Between the details of a stolen Earth election, lampooning public healthcare, and some side commentary on Earth history, White Ops does not shy away from the political. Finn takes an unabashedly American, conservative, and Roman Catholic point of view in this story, along with some ribbing at the Jesuits.
Content warning
There is plenty of violence to go around, but nothing too graphic in its description. There are also some sexual situations as the shadowy telepathic aliens from another galaxy are expert tempters.
Who is it for?
If you like noir, spec-ops military fiction, and Catholicism mixed in with your epic galaxy-spanning space operas, White Ops is for you.
Why read it?
Read White Ops for the unapologetic heroism in the face of cynical politician villains that are all too familiar, and the rich descriptions of alien races and worlds. Also, the action. Lots of action.